Former Investment Ministry official referred to criminal court over illicit gains charges

Egypt’s Illicit Gains Authority (IGA) referred on Saturday a former official at the ministry of investment to the Criminal Court over receiving bribes of EGP 5m.

The head of investigation department at the IGA, Mohamed Abaza, accused Amr Ashraf El-Haras, director of the technical office at the ministry of investment, of abusing his post to earn illicit gains for himself and his family during a period from 2009 to 2013.

The defendant is also charged of violating the law through receiving bribes from some stakeholders dealing with the ministry, acting as an illegal fixer, and possessing an unlicensed gun and narcotic drugs.

The Head of Cairo Cassation Court, Mohamed Shawkat, will set a trial session for the case once its documents are sent from the IGA.

The authority has recently managed to arrest several senior government employees over corruption charges.

In February 2018, the IGA issued a decision to freeze the assets of the former Menoufiya governor Hesham Abdel Basset, his wife, and sons after investigations proved his involvement in a corruption case.